Down the Road to Death
by Shesh
Summary: "We have to keep moving." Tori glances up, her eyes glinting dangerously, a sky blue lacking the innocence of any normal girl her age. She meets the eyes of the teenager across from her, and with a sigh she replies, "I know, Cade... But where..?" Two different families come together in the midst of the Zombie Apocalypse in an attempt to survive; but who can they trust? R&R OC TWD


**CHAPTER 1**

The air was crisp and cold outside in the early dawn light, the silent whisper of rustling trees and the gentle murmur of crackling bracken suspiciously loud amidst the eerie silence. It was the time of night; or day, when not a single person was voluntarily awake; the street lights had slowly died, but something was strange about the quiet town; dark storm-clouds rolled in the distance, a heavy mist settling in the humid air absent of any previous bird song. There was a clash, followed by a muffled thud; a man, tall and well built clad in a dirty white shirt, ripped and muddy at the hem ran from the door of his house, closing it quietly as though afraid to cause attention before taking off down the street, his eyes angry and his face distorted uncomfortably. After his receding footsteps had ceased to echo off the walls of the quite, semi-detached houses, silence once again reigned, a sense of dread and the heavy smell of death clouding the once clean air. From the very same house, a chorus of barks hit the air like a knife through water, harsh and slightly wavering, a sound that could only have came from that of a small dog; perhaps a terrier or a stronger breed of lapdog. The front door was shut firmly, but inside of the house the floorboard's creek and groan, the scent of death even thicker from inside. Downstairs, the small dog continued to bark, pushing back into it's iron cage and whining loudly. There was a groan; chilling and savage, followed by a serious of hungry gasps and cackling snarls. The dark barks pause, cutting short for a second before continuing it's constant yapping.

On the second floor, a girl of around thirteen emerges from the covers of her pristine white bed, shoving herself upwards slowly. She blinks twice, rubbing her eyes and taking in her surroundings. A soft light filters in from the window beside her, but the creaking floorboards below her and the family dog's loud, worried barks take away any comfort the warm light could have provided her. Rubbing her temples, the girl yawns, stretching out her arms and glancing at the door way to her room. "Dad," she mumbles, lying back down. "Go shut Daisy up..." She rolls over, groaning and pulling the pillow over her head. Straining her hearing, she notices the absence of her fathers reassuring snores and lifts her head, pausing before calling out once more. "Dad..?" There was a creak, the floorboards of the old house groaning as something moved around in the room underneath her. The girl sits up strait, her hazel brown eyes filled with fright and curiosity. "Mom?!"

Silence.

The blonde-haired girl pushes off her bed, swinging her legs around and jumping up. She pushes open her door gently, peering around the corner of her doorway. Something inside her bubbled up, causing her to tremor slightly in fright but she pushes the feeling down. Heading down the short hallway, her eyes scanning the walls around her, she reaches her fathers door. Gulping in a futile attempt to ease her dry throat, she kicks the door open with her foot, walking quickly inside. "Mom?! Dad?!" She calls out, glancing around. The room was empty; the covers pulled back, the curtains still drawn allowing no a single sliver of light into the room. Pushing back out of the room, the young girl slams her hand desperately against the light switch on the wall beside her; for a second, bright gold light floods the room before it flickers off into abrupt darkness. "Shit!" She cries, slamming the light continuously in her anger. Turning away from the wall, she runs a hand through her short cropped blonde hair and heads slowly down the stairs, stepping cautiously down the wooden stairs. Her hands grip onto the side rails, knuckles turning a deathly white due to her tight grasp.

"Dad?! What's going on?" She calls out, tilting her head and pausing on the last step. A loud, croaking moan emanates from the room beside her, the dog's barks long since faded and the new unique silence setting the young teenager on edge. She gulps, glancing around the side of the door. "Is that... you, Dad?" she asks, her throat dry and heart beating rapidly in inky black darkness. She steps off the last stair, feeling around until her hand meets the latch on a small waist high door; in the corner of the hallway, her hand meets the electric meter attached to the wall at the bottom of the stairs. She lowers herself slowly, swinging the door open and feeling around inside; one pale finger tip catches a cylinder of heavy black rubber. Pushing her blonde hair behind her ear with one hand, she picks up the flash light and retreats from the electric meter, pushing the door shut to as she stands. Weighing the heavy object in her hand, she flips the small switch, allowing a warm golden light to spill out into the room. Her breathe catches as she takes in her surroundings; nothing. The wall stands firm, but something isn't quite right; past the doorway to her right, the curtains are slightly re-arranged but remain drawn, shielding any light from the room. Turning the light down the hallway, she bites down on her tongue when she notices a splatter of blood against the wall, fresh and dripping an ugly bruise red, taking on the look of a year old stain. Beside it, further along the wall smaller, similar to the first. Sprays of red decorate the creamy white walls, causing the girl's stomach to twist and turn in disgust. Taking a racking breathe, she tries to hide the look on horror on her face as the flash light reveals the silhouette of a body lying in the centre of the kitchen at the end of the blood stained hallway, it's head lolled in a pool of it's own slick crimson life blood. Grimacing, the girl swings her head around, ignoring the body as though she had never seen it and continuing into the living room. The dog's cage rattles as the small black animal begins to bay and whine, it's tail wagging furiously when the girl comes into view. She leans down and undoes the cage, her fingers stumbling against the cool metal, slipping clumsily as she rushes to open the cage. In her hast she drops the flash light, the cool material clattering against the wood floorboard's.

"_DAD?!_" She yells stray tears trickling down her face as she hurries to unlock the cage, just as the dog begins to bark and growl, backing up into the cage and snarling savagely. A loud moan racks the air behind her, sending a shudder down her spine. Spinning around, the girl cries out as something emerges from the darkness, it's skin rotten like a seven year old corpse, eyes clouded and almost un-seeing. Froth drips from it's mouth, arms slightly out-stretched, face contorted with hunger as it approaches her hurriedly. She jumps up, swinging the flash-light madly in the direction of the creature; she can vaguely make out rugged female clothes, knotted light ginger hair and dirty brown eyes, familiar characteristics that she dare not approach. The flash light connects with creature head but it's crackling snarls continue as it attempts to pin her up; shoving back against it's shoulders, she jumps away from the creature, wiping her hands on her scruffy jeans in disgust. Rotten human flash practically drips from the creatures bones, an ugly blackish mess staining her clothes and hands. The air feels thick with the stench of death, clogging her nose as she swings the flash light again, smacking the creatures head. Pushing it aside, she struggles past into the kitchen, slipping in a pool of blood and grime on the slated kitchen tiles. She rolls onto her back just as the un-dead creature falls forward only a few feet away from the young girl, roaring and moaning savagely, gargling deep in it's throat as it crawls towards her, rotten fingers reached out towards the girl. Scrambling backwards, she kicks out desperately. Pinned up against the counter, her eyes filled with fear the young girl pulls her legs out of it's grasp, reaching up above her head and feeling around on the kitchen counter-top for something, anything to protect herself. From behind the cage door, her dog continued to bark and whine, baying for her owner. And, just as the creature began to lower it's head, the girl's hand found purchase on the counter; a thick, wooden rolling pin still rested against it's cutting board in preparation for later use; grasping the heavy wood, the young teenager swung the weapon, and with a sickening crack and a last throaty, rasping breath the creature hit the floor. The kitchen door swung open, letting in a gust of cool, icy air from outside. "What's happening, Dad?" The girl asks, her voice croaky and filled with horror as she looks down at the previously re-animated body of her dead mother, as though she was waiting for it to leap up and attack her once more. "Stay away from the windows, Tori."

**A/N**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own TWD, nor do i claim to. All rights go to their proper owners.**

**This chapter's short to make sure people actually read the story; in the future, they will be longer. Thanks for reading, and if you did, I'd really appreciate a review. Even if you want to tell me how much you hate it (But at least give a reason...) Thanks again.**

**R&R**


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